The House of Pain
by Beli Cantu
Summary: Marelyn s mansion holds an ancient story of magic and hatred. With the aid of a seer he will fight to release his house from the ghosts of unicorns.
1. Chapter 1

Even in the darkness I feel very much alive." MM.

When I was little I created a fascination of visiting old houses and this one was no exception. This mansion is still full of history and everyone believes there s an evil spirit lurking around every corner but I felt as if it s something else.

It was a Tuesday afternoon I guess; I recall my body felt heavier than usual and my hooves hurt for no reason so I relaxed a bit inside the wide veranda which led to the garden while I watched the rain fall. This time of the month there were light showers followed by the pungent sunlight. Having such a pale color made it easier to withstand.

Lilicat who this stage of my life acted like my shadow jumped up laid beside me and coiled her tail while I began to doze off in a very comfy chair

"I couldn t sleep well last night," I said, "don t make so much noise."

She crawled up to my chest and began to rub her body against my coat. "You re the sweetest thing I have ever seen besides Blak. Sometimes I think I don t deserve you, " I said as I yawned continously.

"There s something odd about this place," I continued , "Do you think this house is haunted, girl?" She responded with a long "meow". "I believe it is; at least I have experienced them. Just because you can t see or hear or even smell something doesn t mean it s not there, right?"

A while later the wind began to blow harder and slightly drench my coat but Lilicat startled.

"It s alright, we re still safe!" She ticked me off when she began to shake herself dry.

"Fine, fine, let s go inside, Miss Kitty and I don t wanna see your paws dirty."

Lilicat headed to the kitchen as soon as she caught a very interesting aroma.

It was Rosie May brewing some tea and considering the temperature was dropping it was almost irresistible.

This time she made some Ruby Red which sparkled like the precious stone and it was just the kind of thing to calm down. Also it was particularly sweet and tangy.

"Goodness!" cried Rosie, "it is coming down harder!"

"Yeah, it s a good thing we entered quickly. I need to get some decent sleep; for some reason my room is no longer a comfortable place to do so."

"Oh really, how come?" she continued.

"I dunno. This might sound a bit over the top but a few a weeks ago after Blak left I kept having nightmares."

"Maybe it s because you miss him so much, Dear! After all you two get along quite well that I began to get used to it."

"That s not the problem, Rosie," I said, "what I mean to say is that as soon as I enter my room it feels very tense. That s why I m practically falling asleep anywhere."

"I wouldn t know about that, sweetie. Possibly it s all in your head."

"Or it possibly reminds me of something."

"Like what?"

"Ehh, I would rather skip that part since it s kind of private."

"I see..." she said nervously. "I sure hope they weren t painful memories."

"Actually they are but that doesn t mean that the world is ending; they happen all the time."

"Right. Do you want some more tea? If you do need to sleep some more..."

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Changing the subject a bit; how s your family?"

"Good, thanks for asking. They didn t take very well the thing about me and Blak, however. What else could I expect? As long as I m happy it s okay with them."

"Don t give your hopes up! I think he s a very nice boy; a bit shy and but very charming and well mannered."

"He is, isn t he?" I said sighing. "He s given me plenty of reasons to feel alive."

"You see, it s not that bad! Making a relationship work is never easy."

"I know, the beauty of it is that the more I find out about Blak the more I get closer to him; we have so much in common yet we come from very different backgrounds." I took another sip of tea and continued, "The more I talk about him the more I yearn for him."

"I m so glad to see you re in love, Dear."

"As long as it doesn t make me lose my mind."

"Oh, you can t help that! I think there was a period of fascination and now it s time to put your hooves on the ground and learn to be patient and confident so when he comes back you ll act like the adult you are."

I smiled, "I forget that sometimes, Rosie. All I can tell you is that I have the heart of a child."

"And that s very good indeed! What I really mean to say is that you act responsibly."

"When I hear that it reminds me of giving up certain habits and be more loyal to my boyfriend."

"Yes! We don t need any more tragedies, after all, we are like a family."

"You re right; it might be unconventional but we are strong."

I kept dragging all the way back to my room. At this point I felt like a boulder.

I swore sometimes that I would never fall in love again but he...he produced a greater effect that any liqeur I had ever tasted. He turned me on faster than any girl would...not that there was a huge difference to the point that I disliked women, it was just that I fancied his company for now and his stunning body.

A while ago someone taught me a phrase, "Love ruins everything." Love kills but it also creates, that sort of thing, as if love dampens your heart so much that it becomes useless.

"It was that strange looking demon gryphon," I said. "She pushed me to do this like it was all planned."

There was a small closet on the right end of my bedroom where I hid my knick knacks including a case with a small turntable. I seldom played but it thought it could get me to sleep; the sound of rain was stressing me out.

The album was called "Stay The Night" by Hoofsker Du; one of those legendary bands that faded away too soon but had left a bunch of hits.

It went something like this:

Hush now baby! Just close your eyes, close your eyes, you pretty little thing Hush now baby! Just close your eyes, close your eyes, I wanna give you everything

Stay the night,  
>And never let the music die stay the night, dear sweet baby,<br>don t you make me cry, cry, cry...

(continued)... 


	2. Chapter 2

I couldn t keep my eyes open. The only sound remaining was the needle scratching the disc. I trembled and curled up like a kitten.

Somehow I was half awake and half asleep. My visions took me all the way back in time when I was just a little colt.

Mother and I trotted in an open field on a bright summer afternoon. The wind blew gently and I was almost swept away by it. I didn t really care and laughed as I rolled in the thick grass or even if my coat got dirty.

I looked up to the sky and noticed a dark cloud that slowly covered the sun. One could easily think it was about to rain and that s Mother called me, "Hurry back, Honey, we must find shelter!"

I tried to get up but the wind pushed me against the ground.

"Bree, come on, let s go!" she cried.

I tried to crawl and head towards her yet it seemed almost impossible; my legs were so stiff because I was afraid.

And that s when an enormous creature rose from the darkness and it covered me in smoke. It was like a walking skeleton of a horse with huge wings and eyes that mesmerized.

"Run..." he said and then roared, "Run, I tell you!"

I jumped out of bed feeling very warm. The turntable kept playing the same song over and over.

"Hush now, baby, don t you cry, don t you cry..."

When I went to put it away it was so chilly I could see my breath.

"How can it be like this in the spring?" I said to myself, "something isn t right."

A sound like that of a rattle snake invaded the bedroom and I became agitated.

I trembled some more and pressed my hoof against my forehead; I burning up and my mouth felt dry and sore. The only reasonable thing was to go back to bed and wait to get better in the morning.

Suddenly a very weak voice said, "He s too young to die. In his dreams he shall find redemption."

"Who s there?" I asked nervously.

"It has come to my knowledge you have been after me for a while...I am the owner of this mansion."

"You don t mean...Madeleine?"

"No, she perished a long time ago and went in peace. I have made sure you re safe and comfortable. She was vain and selfish and got what she deserved."

It sounded like a girl about my age.

"But who are you?"

"A forgotten one, almost a nobody. Luckily you look like you still care about us."

"Us?" I said as I breathed heavily.

"Yes, us! We are very rare these days and the one who are still alive are treated poorly."

"I...don t understand."

Finally I gave in to a deep sleep ignoring what time it was.

The next day Rosie May came to see how I was doing since I had overslept.

"And how are you this morning, Dear?"

"I was kind of feverish last night. I think I m okay now."

"Really, are you sure?"

"Yeah...I keep having nightmares though. There s something I need to do about it. Do you recall anything about this house that was unusual before I came to live here?"

"I wouldn t know that since you hired me!" she said.

"I mean, if you have ever heard far beyond the silly legends that surround this mansion?"

"Other than the famous actress? No but you can always consult the library when you need."

"Right; I just wanted to have a quick answer because all I get is nothing but tidbits but I need a remedy."

"By the way, Blak called you earlier but I told him you weren t feeling well and he said he should try to reach you again."

"Oh no!" I sighed. "He must be worried sick. It s alright; I ll take care of it, thanks."

"Anything else I can bring you?"

"Yes...how did you know I wasn t well?"

She fell silent for a few seconds, "My intuition told me you needed help so that s why I brought you some medicine for your throat. I believe it wasn t very prudent being out in the rain."

"You sound just like my mother. She always said I was such a hoof-full."

"Oh, but it is a genuine pleasure taking care of such a charming pony like yourself; it s no trouble at all. Why I have taken care of larger families; nothing that a unicorn can t manage."

"And what if you didn t have magic?"

"There s always a solution."

After I took my meds I felt light as a feather and went to the library to try to reach Blak. Coincidentally the phone rang as soon as I entered.

"Hello?" I began.

"Marelyn?" said Blak. "Sweetheart, you sound so low; what s the matter, are you in pain?"

"No; it s just that I haven t been able to sleep well, that s all."

"But that s serious anyway. Bad dreams, I suppose?"

"Yeah...they re not normal. They used to be about things that I feared the most but now..."

"Now what, Love?"

"There s something else and it knows about me. It sounds crazy, right?"

"Maybe they are asking for a favor."

"Why me?"

"If they are what I think they are they need your help."

"Great; They told some time ago that there was nothing wrong with this place whatsoever."

"Maybe they weren t looking right. I believe you but stay calm, don t be afraid."

"That s a damn good explanation, Blak. My ex told this story in a whole different way and it almost drove me crazy."

"I m sorry about that, Love; that s why you have me now."

"I miss you so much...damn, I m kind of emotional now."

"Get some rest, my love; you do sound tired."

"How will I know if what lies in here won t hurt me?"

"It already has! It s making you restless."

"You re right."

"My heart goes out to you; stay strong until I come back."

The Sunday edition of The Ponywood Reporter was laid out nicely in the desk as usual for me. It came fat and full of useless news and gossip. As I flipped through the pages I came across the ad section and stumbled upon one that said:

Mamma Lyon, professional psychic. No job too small or big, satisfaction guaranteed.

That crazy hipogriff apparently set up a little shop down on Primrose Avenue as if she didn t cause enough trouble in New Horseleans.

Why didn t I ask her before about this? Oh yeah, now I remember; I was too obsessed about a certain pony. The time was perfect to go see her now and not so far away from home.

"Here we go again.." I said to myself.

(continued)... 


	3. Chapter 3

Hipogriffs, said by my grandma were the offspring of gryphons and horses. In some countries it was frowned upon and they were very hard to find for it was said they had bad genes. For years they lived in the shadows and considered freaks of nature; they gathered in secret groups and were nomads.

Mamma Lyon, one of New Horseleans most respected seers returned to Ponywood for unknown reasons. I didn t know how old she was for she had visited this flamboyant city in the Golden Age of films roughly about seventy years ago and made tons of friends with celebrities. I was now one of them; when I called for an appointment and told her who I was she immediately agreed to attend me. "It is vital that you come."

As soon as I was able to make some room in my schedule I asked Pete, my blue gryphon to join me in this little mission; Mamma Lyon suggested that I should come alone.

It was around ten o clock when I arrived to the corner of Primrose Avenue and Silver, the number on the door was 777. There was a slightly gloomy sky and the air was cool but I bundled up anyway because I wasn t taking any chances.

"Trick question," asked Pete walking on all of his four legs, "do you like always wearing black?"

"I m a rockstar; it s perfectly normal. I think it began since high school or something."

"Because I thought it had to do with death and all that spooky stuff."

"A little but it also gives me a high sense of security and empowerment."

I knocked three times and the heavy wooden door with accents of stained glass and it opened by itself.

There was a tiny store that had several herbal remedies in display but there was no one attending so I rang the bell instead.

"How odd..." I said.

"What about this, my young equine friend?" said Pete.

A big sign on the wall said to go down the stairs that led to a basement. Luckily there was enough light to guide us.

"But I m not going down there!" cried Pete sticking his neck out to see how deep it was. "It looks more like the cave of a dragon."

"Well I didn t ask for your opinion, bird brain!" I said. "After all this is about my well-being and not just because of mere curiosity."

"Awww, I m sorry, didn t mean to offend you there, little dude."

"Then let s get on with it, we haven t got all day!" I said putting my hoof down.

"Alright, alright but I ll tell you something; that hipogriff gives me the willies! Remember what happened the last time?"

"Yes but it wasn t that bad."

"It wasn t that bad?! She could have almost killed you with big claws!"

"Trust me, it s not going to happen this time; I have a strong feeling she knows what s wrong with the house."

"What about the house, is it infested with rodents again? Cuz I could help you with that."

"The house is fine but no one has been able to tell me whether it s haunted or not and it s very important that I settle things once because I haven t been able to sleep well lately. Plus, it s cold most of the time."

"Really? Maybe it s because you miss your pretty pony boy..."

"Who said that this was about Blak?" I answered upset, "but if you ask, yes, I wish he were here to comfort me."

"Oh, then it is about him!"

"Will you stop?"

"Then why didn t you say so? You know, when you got urges, you got urges. And if not you can always talk to the hand, or the hoof for that matter."

"No, I m not gonna do that. It s too early to discuss that and this is hardly the place."

"We re here."

The room was dark like the last time and it exasperated me.

"Ya know, it s a good thing I m around to protect you considering you re a very important pony and all it s not very wise..."

"Shhh! I hear something."

The lights went on eventually and revealed a welcoming room and the decor was mainly red. It was in the style of the beginning of the last century.

"What is this, an antique shop?"

"Forgive me but this is just temporary!" The lady walked in gracefully shaking his long and bushy tail looking serene. "Go ahead, have a seat!"

"Thank you so much," I said. "May I ask why are you hidden in the basement?"

"Oh, that!" she cried. "Psychics are not what they used to; most of the time they think we re charlatans. I reserve my real powers only for those who are willing to take the risk. That s why I sell thingamabobs upstairs as a cover up."

"I see. Do you know what s wrong with my mansion?"

"Everything is wrong with that mansion!" she cried spreading her wings.

"I could have said that too," said Pete.

"This is what brought me here on such short notice. There is an unusual activity happening up there and it should be kept a secret."

"But I asked Evie to help me out one time and she said it was all my imagination."

"Well, she lied."

For a few seconds I froze and then I felt a big pressure in chest. "I don t understand...it doesn t make any sense."

"She felt the spirits but she couldn t admit it because it would bring about a big storm and that would put her in danger. I know this because she told me."

"How is this dangerous?"

"My boy, in these lands any supernatural powers or even magic are banned. If they rose once again the responsible ones will be exiled."

"I guess she failed to tell me anything else for the fear of being pursued."

"Exactly!"

"You have to tell me all about this, Mamma because I still don t understand why am I involved in these shenanigans."

"And indeed you shall. We must get there at once but I must be careful not to be noticed."

"Right...hipogriffs are weird," I said very impolitely.

"I beg your pardon? If you keep talking like that, sonny or I will shred you to bits!"

"See? I warned you M, " cried Pete. "This old kooky bird and that pretentious mare are trying to drive you crazy!"

"Oh, shut up, you," she replied. "After all I helped Marelyn some time ago." She pulled out a pendant with the emblem of the Circle of Death just like the branding I had in my flank.

"That s just like the one I gave to Blak."

"Little by little secrets from the past are revealed. I may guide you but you will have to speak to them."

"Them who?"

"The forgotten ones, of course. You are tied to Death therefore you are sensitive to the spirits. All they are asking is to be heard. The outcome is uncertain."

"How do you know they won t hurt me?" I asked nervously.

"My dear, they would never harm anyone, especially you. I ll explain more on the way."

Mamma Lyon preferred to walk instead of flying because she feared exposing herself too much. Pete guarded us heavily from the sky. The rest of the journey she remained calm and optimistic while I was concerned about my future. I should have taken a more simple house.

"You may have chosen this house, however you were seduced by it," said the wise hipogriff.

"I guess you can say I ve always had a thing for old places because they re full of memories even if they re not mine."

"You re partially correct but you like to help others! Like that boy who was so ravaged for having a different kind of love."

"Are you talking about Blak? That means you knew from the start he needed me."

"Evidently but what is really going to bewilder you is that I never said he would be your true love."

"Well, you hinted it. I gave myself the opportunity to open my heart to him and it turned out quite nicely. I mean, we re trying to make a solid relationship and it s a shame I had to leave Evie out of the game."

"I understand. Nobody, including me would have predicted what was to become of that little love triangle."

"Then I guess love is unpredictable, huh?"

"Most of the time, like the storm!" she said pointing to the gray sky. "We better go full throttle or we ll get wet, that I can predict!"

(continued)...


	4. Chapter 4

By the time I got home up on the Ponywood Hills I was having a lot of mixed emotions yet anxious to know what was haunting me every damn night.

"Big question, Mamma," I said. "If you were aware of the paranormal activity here why didn t you come directly instead of hiding underground?"

"Well, I remember my manners!" she cried, "they apply anywhere even in the realm of the dead. I had to be invited by you. Besides I had other things to take care of; my little shop was messy. "

The clairvoyant was happy to know once she found herself inside the mansion that most of the architecture remained untouched.

"You have a great deal of respect for the past," she said.

"I do," I continued, "though some aspects needed restoration and others could definitely not be saved."

When Rosie May appeared to greet us Mamma was very amazed and puzzled.

"A unicorn in a house of unicorns! How very proper," she said as she removed her hood.

"Oh, I didn t know about that!" said Rosie gleefully. "We are still getting used to living here, it has a lot of history!"

"It does, actually."

"And may I ask what brings you here, miss?" asked Rosie.

"Mamma Lyon; it appears that my little friend has a sort of illness, you see. He hasn t been able to sleep properly."

"It s true!" said the pink unicorn, "he claims that there is something rather strange lurking about, probably ghosts?"

"Yes, something like that..."

"The fact is we have grown confused over time. His old girlfriend was asked to inspect the place one night and we ended up more confused."

"I m sure she tried her best."

"Oh, now, don t make me remember Evie," I said covering my face. "I have enough things to worry about."

"Please, come this way; it is getting cold after all; would you like a nice cup of tea?"

"If you don t mind," said Mamma. "I absolutely adore what you did with the place."

"Really? Well, you would have to blame Marelyn for that. I honestly wish there wasn t too much black involved."

"What?! It s my thing," I replied.

"You sound like you re familiar with this manor," said Rosie in a conspicuous way.

"It is the main reason that brought me here. Do you know what it was called originally?"

"Aside from Goldenhooves? No."

"No, no, no! I am not talking about her..."

"Were you friends with Madeleine?" I asked. "Because I m dying to know."

"Sure."

We settled down in the living day light coming from the window was very dim so we lit the chandelier as well.

"Back in the Golden Age I had a great reputation! I was invited to a lot of parties because of my abilities. Animals came from far and wide to consult me."

"You read their fortune?" I asked.

"In a way, yes. In fact, Madeleine, among others came to me for advice about important decisions in life to be highly successful. She said I was always right in my predictions."

"Did she ever marry?"

"Yes! Three times. She was very insecure it s no wonder why she came to see me on a regular basis. It became an addiction."

"Really? How can your thing become addictive?" I said.

"Are you familiar with the term auto-suggestion?"

"I believe so."

"She convinced herself that someone wanted to ruin her career so badly. She claimed to have heard voices in the house telling her all the time that she was a self-centered witch. I came once to see what was the matter and agreed to make a s ance."

"Beg pardon?" said Rosie May.

"A session where we contact the spirits. We held hands and summoned the original owners of the manor. They weren t very polite."

"But who were they?" I asked desperately.

"Unicorns, of course!" At the same time she said that I heard a loud thunder-clap. "There is a very good chance you may have felt them, Miss May.

"But how?"

"Wait a minute," I interrupted, "the other night when I felt sick; they must have warned you about it and you said it was "intuition".

Rosie fell silent for a while and laughed nervously, "They told me that? How incredible."

"It s no coincidence," said Mamma. "That s why I can guarantee that they will not hurt you, Marelyn."

"So what happened to Madeleine, how did she die, really?" I said.

"That s the sad part. She was taken away to an asylum where she spent the rest of her days. The media, however created this whole other story that she became a hermit after her last divorce and failed to appear in the spotlight. The house drove her crazy!"

"So she didn t die inside these walls!" I cried, "And I thought that her ghost was around and why no one else wanted to buy this place."

"Yes, it s all part of the Ponywood urban legends. After that I went back to my headquarters in New Horseleans."

"What do "they" want from me?" I asked.

"Oh, they won t talk this old buzzard, I m afraid," said Mamma.

"What was this called then?" I said.

"The House Of Pain. Long before I was born, about two centuries ago a sect of unicorns gathered here. They were known as healers and created all sorts of great remedies for when everything else failed."

"Wow!" yelped Rosie.

I showed Mamma the way to the library in search for answers.

"It was a good place, very much like a hospital. It would have lasted for ages but if you know your history, Miss May, unicorns faced great danger."

We pulled out a copy of a book entitled, "Pray for the Decay". It had an illustration of some unicorns bottled up like they were poison.

"As you can see, this is a very subversive title. It was given as a text-book but it carried hatred."

"Those were really dark ages, I m afraid," said Rosie. "We were deprived of our talents."

"It was a witch hunt, that s what it was," said Mamma.

"I m lost here," I continued, "if these particular unicorns were healers why were they considered evil?"

"Ah!" cried the hipogriff as she closed the book, "Hand me over that green one, Miss May, will you? I took the liberty of reading them but the Healers wouldn t let me take them away without permission."

This one was called "The Origin Of The Void." Mamma had put a bookmark on it.

"The horned ones played a very important role in the existence of this world. Their talents grew as long as others kept believing in them. For every force there is a light and dark side so the same applies for the unicorn magic. There is a golden rule;

Use it always for the greater good and not for selfishness if not...

"...You ll face the consequence," said Rosie May. "Every single one of us knows that."

"And what s the consequence?" I asked.

"Punishment determined by each country. The lighter side of unicorn magic is the "greater good" while the dark side creates a void. It is a black hole which devours everything, an emptiness."

"I m not very good at history; that s why I preferred music," I said out of boredom.

"It is up to you to find out what happened to the Healers, my boy. It remains a mystery."

"Me? How am I supposed to contact them?"

"The same way I did with Madeleine; there will be a s ance tonight!" cried the hipogriff.  
>"Right; talking with the dead, yeah, no problem!" I said nervously.<p>

There was no turning back this time for I earned a new talent; a channel of the dead.

(continued)... 


	5. Chapter 5

I retreated to my room maybe for an hour or two. I sighed deeply thinking about my loved ones and my friends and I felt like such an idiot; even though I felt sympathy for dark themes including Death nothing prepared me for what was about to come.

The storm was calming down and at the same time it grew colder every minute. I fetched my hooded sweater and contemplated myself in the body mirror.

"All I wanted to do was to get some decent sleep...ehhh."

Just then I heard someone knocking at the door and the voice seemed familiar; that was Twigster.

I hurried down to meet to see what was going on and hugged him almost instinctively.

"Hey you! And what brings you here?" I said.

"Duh, you told me, remember?" He took out of his saddlebag a set of demo tapes we were supposed to deliver."Crazy weather we re having, huh?" he said while he shook the water off his sand-colored coat.

"Yeah! Say, would you like to stay over for dinner? That is if you don t have other plans."

"Hm, I don t see why not. I m just worried about Whirlwind but he s a big dog now. Is there anything wrong?"

I hesitated a bit, "This might sound silly but I feel scared and I could use some company."

"You? The great Marelyn? Nooooo..."

"Um, yeah. You know how we always told jokes that this house was haunted? Well, guess what?"

"You saw a ghost for real?" he cried as we approached the living room. "What did it look like?"

"I haven t seen one yet but I have felt and heard it."

"Boy, that s strange; how can you be sure they are ghosts then?"

"Believe me, I know."

"This house is sure full of surprises! It reminds when my dad took me to the carnival when I was little."

"Yeah, try living in one to see what it actually feels like."

To make the evening more pleasant Mamma offered to make us a nice dinner in the style of New Horseleans which consisted of spicy vegetables with brown rice served in a large bowl as a kind of soup.

"My, I had never seen this before!" said Rosie May.

"For being a creature with different animal parts it is perfectly natural that I have many talents."

"Good; this seems very convenient to stay warm!" I said,

"Not to mention very tasty!" said Twigster.

"It s rather nice that you re eating your vegetables now, Marelyn!"

"Um, yeah...not that there s anything wrong with yours! Sometimes I m a little picky."

In fact it was so great that it felt like my last meal before I went off to the land of the dead.

Afterwards we went into the large living room. It was all set with a huge wooden round table with a symbol of the Circle of Death in the center. I considered this a wonderful customized item of mine. The time was right to use it.

"I need to warn you before we carry on," said Mamma.

"Okay..." asked Twigster.

"Yes. All of you are not here as a result of accident; you will all play an important role. While the outside world may think Marelyn is still here in reality he is about to enter a different dimension. Once inside time stops so don t bother about the watches and such."

"I never cared about that," I said.

"So where is he going?" asked Twigster.

"To a place where we can find the truth," Mamma continued.

"Can I go too? I promise I won t be a bother," said Twigster.

"Only he will be able to choose who can come."

"I can?" I said anxiously, "what about my cat, could she join me?"

"That I cannot predict," said the hipogriff in a more serious tone.

"What if I get stuck in there and can t come back for some reason?"

"You won t. Please hold paws and hooves."

As I closed my eyes the voice of Blak echoed in my mind. I went back all the way to that night on Valentine's Day when he said,

"There is no such thing as a coincidence, we just happen to be in the right place in the right time."

Mamma Lyon placed asked to place several white candles around the center of the table. Later she opened up a kind of manual and recited

"As above so below. We stand here before you, oh Great Ones who have fallen in despair! I beg you to guide us through the path of darkness so that together we may find absolution."

"Okay...I don't like the sound of that," said Twigster in a lower voice.

"Lay down the Path of Darkness, oh Great Ones and let your humble servant follow you!"

My heart pounded and became terrified. I felt stiff and incredibly cold. The hipogriff made us repeat this last sentence more than ten times,

"Lay down the Path of Darkness, oh Great Ones and let your humble servant follow you!"

The flames in the candles rose as a sign that the spirits were manifesting; I kept thinking it was a sort of magic show that would soon end followed by a roaring applause.

The sound in the room slowly died; the stiffness was gone and my body felt so light I could almost walk in the clouds. As soon as I opened my eyes once again I floated through the city like in a dream.

The landscape however had changed dramatically; there few buildings and small wooden houses up on the hills. This was Ponywood about two hundred years ago before it earned its flamboyant name. There were numerous farmers and gardeners, very much like the ones I saw growing up in Phillydelphia but more primitive. Everybody dressed in very dull grey colors.

My trip came to an end when I landed in front of the building that would later be my mansion.

The facade was in the style of the Victorian era which came from countries from the other side of the ocean labeled some years later the United Furdom.

It didn't look that different; it was particularly gray and there were more rooms enabled and the gryphon statuettes were missing. Other than that it was very silent.

I knocked on the door several times and I was greeted by a fine unicorn mare; she wore black and her coat was pale yellow like the color of maize and she hid her lavender mane in a cap.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked in a very soft voice.

"Um, no but I wanted to..."

Suddenly I wasn't feeling well; maybe it was the effort that I put making this trip and was very dizzy and my knees shook violently.

"Do come inside! It looks like an emergency."

"Thank you so much, I think I got lost or something."

"I noticed; you don't sound like you're from around here, do you?"

"Really? Does it show that I have an accent or something?"

"Well yes, that and you have the most peculiar fashion," she said referring to what I was wearing, "like a homeless creature perhaps."

"Oh no, I do have a home! It's actually closer than you think."

The house was superbly decorated. It had mainly a wooden floor and there were beautiful wallpapers with ornamental flowers in more cheerful colors like emerald green and light blue.

In the hallways portraits of past members who worked there hung on the walls; none of those seemed familiar anyway.

"And what is your name, if I may ask?" said the nurse.

"Oh; my real name is Bree but I preferred to be called Marelyn."

"My, that sounds like a girl's name, doesn't it?"

"Yes! It's a funny story, and you are?"

"Emily, Emily Nightingale."

I knew I heard that name before; the library had a plaque of her back home.

(continued)... 


	6. Chapter 6

We went into a small room where they kept all sorts of medications and remedies in tall dark bottles. I assumed they were potions but nothing that resembled an ordinary medicine. "Here, put this over your head and lie down," spoke Emily as she gave me a cold cloth to help with the fever.

"I don t know why I'm feeling like this; nothing makes any sense anymore. Tell me are you here all by yourself?"

The unicorn went silent for a few seconds; I knew this would be an uncomfortable question but I couldn t think straight enough.

"I m sorry, I didn t mean to upset you."

"That s alright...I m glad to feel useful after so long." She stared at me and smiled easily, "You have very beautiful eyes...but you look so pale."

"Is that a bad sign, am I terribly ill?"

"No, it was just an impeccable observation just like I noticed that mark on your flank. I bet you have no idea what it means."

"This is known as the Circle of Death. Up to now it is supposed to bind me to its ideals. I always rise from the ashes but then again so does everybody else."

"It's true in a way but it also means that you are an agent of Death and you have a sympathy for those are in agony and those who died and seek a way out of the darkness and into the light."

"The path of Darkness!" I cried, "is this where I am?"

"I have a vague notion about this. I recall stepping out one day and everyone was gone. My sisters were heavily pursued because of the modern times."

"Modern times?"

"Yes; it's a rather long story. Oh, I see what your problem is, you have a minor infection but it can be taken care of easily."

Her horn lit up in shades of pink and she proceeded to touch my forehead, "Semper salutary!" she chanted.

It was obvious that she performed a magic spell but it provoked a reaction inside me; this ball of energy spread across my body and it specifically attacked the part that was in pain, my throat. I felt less tense and slowly regaining control.

"Oh my gosh, you did it! I haven't felt so alive."

"Thank you but this is the kind of magic we weren't allowed to do. It was far more effective than any drug or remedy. It came only from unicorns who were known as Healers."

I got up refreshed and strong. "I can see why others didn't sympathize with your cause."

"Science posed a huge threat to our world. As soon as other cures became available our practices became obsolete."

"That doesn't explain why your sisters went missing; Emily, what happened to them?"

She cried in lament, "Please, don't ask me that! I don't wish to remember that ever again!"

I felt out of my trance and regained consciousness. I was back in the living room with Rosie, Mamma and Twigster; what curious guests I had.

"Are you alright, Dear?" said Rosie.

"Yes, I am."

"Whoa, you scared the living daylights out of us, dude!" said Twigs. "So what did it feel like? You kept talking random stuff."

"Random stuff?" I said as I shook my head. "Wait a minute! There is a ghost and I know its name."

"Tell us then, my little friend," said Mamma.

"Her name is Emily Nightingale, she worked as a nurse here."

"Of course! She is seldom mentioned in history books but I understand that she bravery and tenacity became an example for others."

"She didn't tell me that but she is quite aware of my special abilities."

"Is she threatening then?" asked Rosie.

"She just wanted to help using magic but I found out that it was a threat in the past. And you were right, Mamma, she didn't do anything but try to heal me."

"It still doesn't explain the major disturbances I had felt before when I made my s ance with Mrs. Goldenhooves..."

"That's what remains a mystery and she refused to tell me. She was very sweet but she was so afraid as well of being alone. What if they were killed?"

"Is that what actually happened, a slaughter?" said Twigster a bit excited.

"God, no! At least that sounds pretty gruesome. I wish magic could cure every once in a while," I said.

"But we already know it has been aggressively restricted. I can see poor Emily is so lost inside her universe that she won't be able to give more straight answers."

"So this can't be solved tonight?" I asked desperately.

"She will remain adamant to this situation unless you become her friend. You made great progress but I'm afraid it will take more sessions."

"Oh, I don't mind about Emily but the other Healers..."

"Don't worry, you're not alone in this battle but I do recommend you to read the books I browsed. Knowledge is sometimes the best weapon. Good night everyone and thank you for your time."

Thus, everyone in the house including the cat were fast asleep in their own bedrooms. Meanwhile I kept coughing like crazy; I felt knives running down my throat.

I hugged the pillow and began to talk to myself for comfort, "It's hard to believe in magic sometimes in such a harsh world yet the closest thing I have is music.

I may be burning inside because I felt too much because I loved so much but not like Emily

And though the Darkness swells she feels alive and well as long as someone needs a remedy.

My eyes felt heavy like rocks and my body was very warm just the night before. "Emily," I said in a soft voice, "is that you?"

There was a knock on the door. "Can I come in, Dear? You sound a bit awful."

I hardly remember this part. The curtains were half-shut and the light was very weak. A figure rose from the darkness and it did feel like a unicorn because a bright rose-colored light came from its appendage.

"It's alright; I just came to see how you were doing."

Her voice was sketchy as well. I wasn't looking straight into her and I failed to get up to see who it really was.

"I want the pain to go away, can you help me?"

"Relax, my magic will heal you, it always has..."

"I like the way that sounds."

She pulled the covers very softly. A chill ran through my spine then she ran one of her hooves across my flank.

"Dear sweet Death, how I long for eternal repose. I have grown weary and lonely but I can't seem to let go."

"Emily?"

"If this is what Death looks like then I have no trouble embracing it, take me with you!"

"But I'm not Death!"

The pale light and the one surrounding her horn made her look more deceiving. She wrapped her arms around me and knocked me down on the bed.

"Emily?"

"How dare you speak about that traitor?!" she cried out loud and in her fury she hit my side. It didn't hurt much though.

At that moment Lilicat came out of nowhere and jumped on the bed growling.

"Thanks a lot, girl, you saved me!" I panted. "Another spirit? I have never felt this one before; I need a drink, seriously."

I went quietly down the stairs and noticed the hour in the pendulum clock in the living room; three o' clock in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and gave a loud yawn.

"If the house has ghosts it can only be those of the Healers unless somebody died here under difficult circumstances," I said to myself and scurried to pour a glass of the good old Dragon's Tears. "Emily said that they were very effective, probably more than their rivals. It's reasonable why the modern scientists wanted to wipe out the competition but that could only happen based upon their own interests, not the interests of others."

I entered the library and noticed the smell of mahogany was more intense as if the place was brand new. The books that Mamma Lyon was studying were still there.

Maybe it was my nature to explore the most tragic and sensationalist one of all the titles, "Pray For The Decay"; an eerie propaganda against the so-called "dark arts" of the unicorn community.

In one chapter it said, "Science is golden, science is pure, magic is tragic and just an allure."

And another one that said ,

"Beware of the witches who relish and boast for they will bring us sorrow and remorse. They have befriended the Void; a faceless demon that will tear you apart when you least expect it."

This was just an urban legend to scare the population and keep them in control but it sounded pretty messed up.

"Cease from visiting these places of debauchery known as The Houses Of Pain, though you might find temporary comfort it is a well crafted flim-flam. Science is the only and absolute cure for your ailments."

"Why would a bunch of angry citizens be so eager to destroy what they considered charlatans? There's something that doesn't make sense somehow." 


	7. Chapter 7

The phone had rung several times the following morning. I fell asleep in a chair with the book over my face.

My mouth was dry and sunlight coming from the window hurt my eyes.

"Hello, this is Marelyn speaking," I slurred.

"It's me, Blak! How are you, sweetheart?"

"Well, first of all I officially have a terrible hangover and second, I've become a medium."

"I beg your pardon?"

"A medium; a guy who's supposed to contact the dead...because you know this house is haunted, right?"

"Right, and how did that go?"

"It's not going to be that easy," I said as I stared at my hoof for no reason, "so I need to make a serious decision because I can't stand living here anymore; it's like a damn battle every night and chances are I may have been already raped by a ghost."

Blak couldn't stop laughing, "Are you serious? Have you even listened to yourself?"

"Nope, that only happens when I record an album which is half-finished by the way so I don't really care."

"It's a figure of speech, Love. What I mean to say is that you're babbling nonsense because you were drinking last night."

"Oh, so now you say I can't control my liquor? I just don't wanna go crazy like that actress did."

"I'm sorry, it'll be alright..."

"History can't repeat itself, Blak. I feel that I was meant to solve this mystery but I can t do it alone. If I asked you to come would you do it?"

"Sure.I realize that all of this is very farfetched and I have been very patient and exercised my will power but I really need you, Love!"

"I think the distance makes our bond grow stronger," I said sighing deeply, "You say such beautiful things sometimes," I said as I began to cough repeatedly.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I need to take some medicine if I want to make it through the day."

"I'll call you as soon as I arrive."

Mamma Lyon promised she would be back to continue with the sessions and I suggested the weekend would be best; I had some business to take care of while I was downtown.

So the Summer was just around the corner so that meant another more touring until the end of the year. I was crossing my hooves thinking Saddlestitch would join us but it would only be for a few shows. That meant I wasn't going to be seeing too much of Blak; I guess I was right about that "bond" thing.

The rest of band called me to go into the recording studio for an urgent matter. Unfortunately I arrived almost two hours late. The premises were rather small yet cozy, very much like a cave.

"I apologize, you guys; I had a small domestic problem."

"Hey, no big deal," said Twigster. "I was telling the guys about what went on last night."

"Wait, you told THEM?" I yelped.

"Yes, Marelyn," said Fred, "You should know by now that there are no secrets between us. Ever since I was a puny colt I heard about the tall tales that went on in that mansion."

"Well," I said nervously, "It's not that I'm underestimating you, it's just that there have been some unusual activities going on lately, like something or someone that woke up."

"Yes! And that's the main reason we brought you here. That and discussing other details about the tour."

"Sure, sure, sure." And so I went through the hallway and into the studio dragging my feet and shaking my head a little; the hangover was still there that's Rosie packed a fresh bottle of water in my saddlebag. She was always so careful with me as if I was her son.

The guys brought the sound engineer, someone who just went by the Steve who was older and wiser than all of us put together.

"Ah, welcome, Marelyn!" he said effusively, "it is a great pleasure to have you here once again."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. They said you had something to that I should listen to?"

"Indeed. You better sit down for I've made a great discovery with one of your songs, one of the most popular."

"Which one?"

"It was Toxic Girl but this another version you asked us to throw in," said Steve. "Where was this recorded?"

"Oh, damn!" I said with a raspy voice, "the one that was done at home about a year ago."

"Apparently some gibberish can be heard at the end of it so for mere curiosity I played it backwards and here's what it I found:

And so we waited

Pray for the decay,  
>for the witches' fray,<br>Pray for those who oppose the righteous way!

The voice was weary and slow. "It sounds familiar," I said.

"Oh, good! So was this intentional, Marelyn?" said Steve. "I find no harm in these things because it's been done before but I only wanted your consent."

"No, it wasn't intentional. We were in the small theater, remember guys?"

"Oh yeah; that was quite painful," said Fred.

"You two were fighting because Marelyn claimed he had seen a ghost that day!" said Twigster.

"It's not really necessary to go into details but this is actual proof of a disturbance in the mansion," I said.

"Look, I don't care where the sounds came from as long as it's harmless to include in the last cut," said Steve scratching his head.

I took a deep sigh, "It's ancient history; there's nothing sinister about it. I think it can pass censorship, if not I won't miss it."

"But then how do you know it's harmless?" asked Twigster.

"Because it doesn't mean anything to those who live in the modern world. The witches are gone," I said.

"Great, so I'll pass this to the fellows at the record label for their say-so," said Steve and continued with his job.

Later we gathered inside a small lounge when I noticed Jayson resting in a big couch crestfallen.

"Hey, dude, why so glum?" I said as I approached them.

"Be careful, Marelyn; very, very careful..."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"You heard the song, right?" he said as he got up. "You do know the meaning of those words, right?"

"From the recent experiences I had, yes. The Dead are trying to communicate with me somehow."

"Then you already know who they are and what they are capable of."

"Not entirely, do you know who they are because I could really use the help."

"Every unicorn has heard of those wild stories! That's why our magic is very limited. You noticed I've been away for a while."

"Yes but you're okay now, everything's cool and you are fit to travel?"

"Yeah but I had to renew some permits. You see, every time unicorns do this they're asked a series of questions where you have to be awfully smart with every single activity you have done."

"I guess so, what about it?"

"Magic has been very limited for many reasons precisely because of what went on in that house."

"I know that; in fact Rosie May explained it to me; it's only for the greater good."

"Because one thing is dealing with a crazy unicorn and another is a the ghost of one."

"Jayson, you remember last year, when we rehearsed in the small theater?" said Twigster.

"Yup," he said.

"Did you sense anything in particular?"

"To be honest, yes but not in the way Marelyn did."

"So why is this coming back to me now, this haunting?" I said desperately.

"Maybe someone or some pony was protecting you?" said the brown unicorn.

"It was that Evie, wasn't it? I never fully trusted that girl," said Fred.

"Yes! Don't blame her," I interrupted, "maybe she wasn't such an expert at what she was doing. Perhaps now that I'm with someone else the outcome will be different."

"Excuse me?" said Fred.

"Nothing, forget it. So tell me; we start touring in June, right?"

"Oh sure! We'll begin with one date in Neigh-on at the Big Summer Festival," said Twigster in a moreenthusiastic way.

"Great, I always wanted to go there!" I said. "They say that if you're big in Neigh-On you can be biganywhere."

"Yeah, that doesn't apply to us anyhow because we're already big and famous."

"Do you know who else will be included in the lineup?" I asked.

"Of course! Dragonslayer will be there too in the "Mane Stage"," said Twigster.

"How about that, Jayson? Your old buddies..." said Fred.

"Eh, I put that behind; besides our style is a lot different from theirs so there will be no point of comparison."

Neigh-on was a country in the Far East and I simply adored everything about it starting by their philosophy; a different audience with a different way of thinking and more tolerant than those from Amareica. This was beginning to look like more a discrimination issue against unicorns but the burning question was who was behind it, the scientists?

(continued) 


	8. Chapter 8

Later that afternoon back home I became immersed reading the "Pray For The Decay" book. Eventually I found that phrase we heard at the end of the song.

Pray for the decay,  
>for the witches' fray,<br>Pray for those who oppose the righteous way!

There was a hidden meaning; it spoke of a strategy to defeat the unicorns which implied stop believing in their magic. The less support they had the weaker their powers became. Almost everyone knows that magic is a well-crafted lie; if you don't fall for it nothing will happen.

Those words became a chant which spread quickly; how did it get so popular and who had the nerve to convince the population of such things?

Finally I got some decent rest that night but what made the next day even more wonderful was having Blak by my side once again. Pete went off to bring him instead of travelling by boat; he insisted to arrive as soon as possible and gryphons are very resistant and reliable method of transportation.

That day the sky was clear and bright yet slightly warm; it was almost noon.

"Well, there you have him, Marelyn; I brought him home safely," said Pete.

When I went out to greet him he rushed to my arms like a desperate child. His embrace was more intense and his lips tasted so much better than before; he was all over me and impregnated me with a mild sandalwood fragrance.

"Thank goodness you're here; I truly missed you, " I said as I rubbed his back. Suddenly I felt the need to grab his waist so tightly and began to heave a loud sigh.

"Oh come now, don't be like that. Is it really bad all this business about spooky characters and all?"

"I have been able to figure out lots of things on my own but like I said before; I don't want to go through all of this alone."

"You're not alone, Love! Why, you have your family."

"Yes and now you're a part of it, a rather important one too."

"Aww," he said as he shook his head. "So tell me, how can I help you?"

"Mamma Lyon is coming over for another s ance tonight. I have a strong belief that your presence will make a huge difference. The spirits called me an agent of Death."

"Is that right?" he said a bit surprised.

"Come inside; I'll tell you all about it."

"Welcome back, Blak, we are so delighted to see you!" said Rosie May effusively.

"Thank you very much, Miss May. It turns out that Marelyn is so needy he just cannot live without me."

"He is! Although I have only served him for a few years it's clear that he longs for affection."

"Uh, yeah!" I said in a lower voice. "Oh, you're just in time for lunch. Mamma left this big pot of vegetable soup and I can't finish it on my own."

"Is that the main reason you brought me here?" he said laughing.

"Apparently you don't have enough meat on your bones," I replied.

"Alright then but neither do you; are you feeling better now?"

"Sort of. It hurts when I talk sometimes. Luckily I have my trustworthy unicorn to stuff me with all sorts of meds. I think the past repeats itself inside these walls."

"Why do you say that?"

"I mean if we don't solve the mystery that surrounds this mansion we're doomed to suffer the same consequences."

"You have a rather privileged imagination, Love; I wish I could have a piece of it."

"I can't offer you that unless you're willing to take part in this game, after all it has to do with magic. All this talk about it has made me very hungry."

After we boldly embraces Mamma's spicy cooking I asked Blak to come into the library or should I say the Emily Nightingale Library to show him how serious the situation was.

"Blimey!" cried the pale blue pony after he browsed the book I last read, "do you realize how much hatred was poured into this?"

"That's not all!" I said as I finished nibbling a piece of corn bread. "Me and the guys found this phrase in our early versions of "Toxic Girl." It's shocking."

Blak read all the chants that were included in the "Pray For The Decay" book and said very softly, "This was a campaign to overthrow the unicorn community."

"That I already know but do you recall anything else which could help me understand this whole situation?"

Blak sat down and continued our conversation still holding the book, "The regular earth creatures are not taught about the history of unicorns because they want them to stay a rare find. The less they believe in them the less chances they have to practice magic. My grandfather, may he rest in peace told me that there is a dark force known as the Void and it grows when magic is used in a selfish way instead of doing something for others..."

"And that's why it's restricted, I know that!" I interrupted. "What else?"

"I have just about the same information as you do, Love. That sort of knowledge is shared only with unicorns."

"They always speak about them as if they were the enemy. This Void thing, what does it do exactly?"

"Nothing, just that. It's the emptiness of energy and it devours all that we know."

"Is that true or just a bedtime story?"

"Magic, like nature has a balance. Unicorns always carried that huge responsibility upon their shoulders since the day they were born for it involves manipulation."

"So getting back on track before we stray too much; the Healers used their magic here to give more effective cures when there was no other solution available. They were practically miracle workers."

"Yes, I believe," said Blak.

"But if they made such great contributions to society why would they be satanized like this?"

"I'll tell you why from my point of view; there is no way that you can tamper with the course of life; if some living thing is going to die then there's nothing we can do about it."

"Unless you were a unicorn!"

"But even so they are not allowed to do this. There are three mayor things which are forbidden and those are: you cannot tamper with love, you cannot cheat Death and you cannot use it for your personal well-being."

"How about that? So you actually know a thing or two, Blak."

"Um, yeah. It's something I deducted from the book, by the way."

I yawned so loudly while I stretched my curvy legs. "Well, that old hipogriff will arrive in a couple of hours so I think I going to take a nap, do wanna join me?"

"It would be more appropriate it to continue that recreational activity upstairs."

I giggled, "Fine, whatever! Upstairs it is."

"Come on, I'll carry you, hop on my back."

"Really? Aww, that's so romantic."

"I've a feeling that you'll need much more strength than you can imagine."

The bedroom was spruce up except for the record player and it flaunted a delicate aroma of incense I'd left intentionally to enhance the senses.

Blak placed me gently in my bed and took my clothes off. Okay, it was just a very thin sweater but it still felt great. Meanwhile I played with his little green scarf and slowly removed it in a kinky way.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and we started making out very smoothly.

As he massaged my tongue with his I went blank and concentrated on the moment; the weight of his body against mine pressing my stomach, that tingling between my thighs, how impossible it became for him to satiate with my kisses.

"You feel a bit tense," said Blak.

"Then keep going," I gasped. "I want to forget where I am for a while."

"That has never been a problem, all that matters is that we have each other."

"Then take me away! Take me higher!"

And so he raised my legs and caressed them with his hooves and made huge circles with them around my thighs and later into my buttocks.

"Do you like that?" he said in a low swift voice.

"Yes! Don't stop," I said out loud as I gripped th covers. Next he dropped his front hooves on the bed and took impulse to penetrate me. He was always so careful and patient.

"That's it, that's it!"

My sex felt hard and sensitive it was almost impossible to ignore.

"Hmmm, yes baby, come on, come on...take me higher!"

With all the effort he pushed me against the wall and he began to go deeper and deeper. I closed my eyes and gave in this feast of the senses and let that old familiar warm rush of blood go into my beautiful organ. We came at the same time and that was wicked.

When I slowly opened up my eyes I saw his own all exhausted and panting.

Blak covered me with his body and rubbed my arms.

"I love you so much," he said as he kissed my neck but I couldn't help shedding tears.

"What happened, what went wrong?"

"Nothing; I feel so happy and satisfied now." Afterwards I fell into a deep sleep and placed his arms upon my waist. "I love you too."

(continued)...  
> <p>


	9. Chapter 9

I noticed that Blak left me alone after waking up from my nap; I assumed he was downstairs.

I felt light-headed more like apathetic; traces of my illness were still there. And so cleaned myself up nice and get ready for the inevitable.

To my disgrace there was no one around; it was cold and horribly silent. I proceeded with caution.

As I approached the living room I began to grow really nervously and called out, "Is there anyone around? Rosie, Blak?"

Having no response it occurred to me that at least the cat would answer, "Lilicat, where is everybody?"

This situation made my skin crawl. I breathed faster and coughed repeatedly.

I rolled my eyes in fear. "Pull yourself together, come on, come on..."

"Having problems?"

I turned around and was shocked to find Emily by my side. She looked calm yet sad.

"How did you get here? I didn't invoke you," I said agitated.

"Oh, I believe you did," she said in a soft voice. "You need help."

"Where is everybody?"

"They don't exist here; it's just you and me. Come sit down; you look very pale and exhausted."

"But I just want answers..." I continued coughing. At this point the pain was unbearable.

"Your mind, body and soul are sick. The body makes pain tangible, that's all."

"You mean this? I'm not getting better; it's becoming annoying and it makes me feel so bad sometimes I cry at night."

"I know that and I hear you all the time," she said.

"Anyway; you are a Healer after all, so give me something for the pain."

She sighed deeply, "Magic such as ours is hard to come by these days because few creatures believe in it. On the other hoof I know you can heal on your own."

"No, only you can save me, please!"

Suddenly I felt someone tap me on the back.

"Marelyn! I'm awfully sorry to wake you up."

I was back in my room all curled up like a kitten. "Oh...it's you Blak; I had this terrible dream," I said as I stretched my legs.

"You're not well, aren't you?" he said and he caressed me with his hoof.

"I'm okay but I was extremely tired, that's all." He gave me this slow and deep open mouth kiss and I didn't want to let go.

"There's work to be done, big boy..." I said.

"Here." Blak wrapped me up his green scarf. "I think you need this more than I do."

"Aww, thanks! It goes with my eyes," I replied cynically.

"I'm serious!"

"I am too, do you think I'm joking? Alright, I'm up.."

There were four of us now including Rosie May. I fell under the impression that because she was a unicorn it made a lot of sense that she was there.

"You brought this charming colt; how delightful!" cried the hipogriff. Meanwhile Blak slightly blushed, I could tell.

"Please hold paws and hooves," said Mamma once again. This time her tone was more intense while I held on to Blak very tightly.

"Lead us through the Path of Darkness, oh Great Ones!"

Soon, I repeated these words to myself, closed my eyes and let go.

We ended up in a sort of large room filled with what looked like hospital beds yet there was no one around.

It was particularly warm. Surprisingly Blak appeared by my side.

"Oh, great!" I cried, "this is exactly what I was talking about with you making a difference."

"I think we should be quiet for I fear we're not alone, Love."

"Oh, okay."

"Down the stairs," said Blak.

"Would it be right if went over there?"

"We're here for a reason so we just better be discreet."

The both of us peeked remaining in the staircase and saw Emily having a heated discussion with an elder unicorn; her mane had gone all white and she wore a dark gown.

"Ann Marie!" cried the younger unicorn. "Listen well to what I have to say!"

"There is no use speaking to a traitor such as you."

"I realize that I was breaking the code of secrecy but I only did for the good of others. You are driving things out of balance and you know it brings terrible consequences."

"You had no right to tell this to others!" cried Ann Marie. "Your ways will put us in serious trouble."

"My ways? I am being unselfish so I feel in peace but what about you?"

"I am protecting my kind, we are a great family, do you consider that selfish?"

"You are twisting things in your favor, don't you understand? Maybe if we coped with them we can get to an agreement so that our future can be assured..."

"Listen to yourself!" cried the elder one, "this is some trickery they wrapped you in!"

She raised her head and we watched how her horn lit up surrounded by a pink colored mist.

"It can't be..." I said in a lower voice. "That's the same magic I saw the other night."

"What do you mean by that, Love?" asked Blak.

"She is another ghost just like Emily but it's obvious that they took different sides."

Suddenly Ann Marie tried to strike her companion yet she defended herself quite nicely using some form of shield.

"I beg you to stop this! You're just making things worse, you can't kill your kind!"

"Who said I was about to kill? I am just setting an example so that you will learn your place..."

"NOOOO!" I couldn't help crying and went downstairs to aid Emily. Blak tried to stop me.

Unfortunately there was nothing to do. The images we saw were just echoes, reflections of what happened. They faded away slowly in my hooves.

"What?" I said turning around.

"That's remarkable," said Blak and continued to check the place.

"This was supposed to be different; I thought they were real, at least in their ghostly form. I don't like this, Blak."

"I don't either but why are you sad? Tell me."

He hugged me tightly and explained to him that my anguish for Emily had grown; I feared she could have been killed by her own kind. The elder unicorn didn't specify that.

"She was just doing the right thing; it was Ann Marie who turned evil."

"It's lovely how you show empathy for a dead one; it's too bad the other had worse intentions."

"She is the aggressive one who is turning the house upside down; now I realize what Mamma said that she wouldn't do me any harm."

"So what do we do now, are we supposed to go back?"

"We have to keep searching the mansion because there could be other clues, probably stuff that's not written in the books. This will be a long night."

"Alright then, let's go."

"Once again, I'm glad you're with me for I feel much safer."

"Calm down; whatever happened to Emily belongs in the past because she perished and we can't do anything about it."

"What if she wasn't dead?"

"Oh, why do say that?"

"Nothing, it's just a feeling."

Blak and I had absolutely no clue of where to go next. There were several places within the house that I barely explored. It was very dark so the only way to walk across hallways and such was by using a candlelight.

"What about the basement?" said the pale blue pony.

"What do you expect to find down there?"

"Remember when you found me crying in the corner while a record was playing?"

"Yes?"

"Actually, there was somebody else that night."

(continued).  
> <p>


	10. Chapter 10

I felt so agitated like having a panic attack, something I've experienced before.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" said Blak hugging me.

"I don't think we should go to the basement, let's go somewhere else, yeah that's it!" I said nervously.

"Shhh...just breathe in and out slowly. Do you want to unearth the truth or not?"

"Yes but don't you think you would rather tell me what you saw? It was her, wasn't it, wasn't it?!"

"No," he answered in a very cutting tone; then came a notable silence. I think he did it on purpose so I could relax.

"Listen, she has been very kind to me, she was just doing her job and she happened to be good at it!"

"I understand you but Emily's not the problem..."

"You don't mean, the other thing you saw?"

"Since they can't see or hear us there's no point in being afraid. Tell me, Love; what are you truly afraid of?"

"Why do you ask me that?"

"Tell me!"

The way his tone of voice shifted was surprising "A lot of things! But mostly of losing the ones I care about. I lost my dad when I was very little and I wasn't ready for such a harsh experience."

"No one is."

"Yeah but let me finish; I believe everything makes sense now. I couldn't stop my father from drowning and for sure I can't bring back that poor girl but one thing that we can do is to know what really happened. No one cares about the past and won't talk about the incidents in the House of Pain anymore but as long as I live here I will face the demons which Madeleine go crazy."

"Right..."

"Let's go!"

The wooden stairs that lead to the basement creaked so much we had to be careful where we stepped.

What was my recreational room now looked like another a working room. We walked through it and the tiled floor and somewhat filthy. A figure of a tall mare whose face was covered in a veil appeared and she had a child, probably a colt about seven years old suspended in mid-air. I couldn't give any more details for the darkness was too deep

"The only way out is down..." she said.

Then the child looked at me and spoke in a lower voice, "Please kill me...kill me."

I regained consciousness and found myself back in the room with the others. They stared back at me because I stood pale and shocked.

"Are you alright, Dear?" asked Rosie May looking worried.

"Marelyn, answer us!" cried Mamma Lyon.

It took me some minutes to start talking, "There was...one of them, Healers who performed black magic on one innocent pony. I think that's the most obscure thing I saw.

"What kind of dark magic was it?" said Mamma.

"I wouldn't know and I couldn't see much. It was like a dream. I'm not even sure how to describe it but Blak was there."

"Yes, I was," he continued.

"But we couldn't alter anything or interact with them, they were just memories."

"Yes, of course because they were a reflection of the past," said the hipogriff.

"Except for the child; he asked to be killed or being redeemed from something," I said.

"That's it!" said Mamma. "They used forbidden healing spells to keep them alive when they were already marked by Death and that's where you come in."

"Where?" I said.

"You must deliver that innocent one from where he was sent and cross to the other side."

"Me, how? I don't have any powers!"

"Honestly considering what you've been through these past two years I think you're more than ready, my boy."

"What do you mean?"

"You know well what I mean; you are one of those who are the link between the land of the living and the dead. You must deliver them to erase the damage the unicorns caused."

"What about Emily, didn't she suffer too?"

"She's not important now."

I stood silent for I felt that old buzzard had slowly talked into doing something I'd never imagined. It was surreal, like I wasn't there at all yet at the same time I had to end this.

"If you ever want to sleep well again you must do it."

"How?"

"Please stay seated," she said softly.

An anger possessed me and began to say in an automatic mode things which made no sense now yet they felt strong, very strong.

"This is my house and these are my rules and I say we go back for Emily; I wish to know how she died! She needs me and I need her..."

"I think I better leave now," said Rosie May, "it's getting late, you know and I need begin my labors very early..."

"Remain seated!" shouted Mamma fiercely. "Marelyn, listen you can't save her..."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"It's alright, calm down," said Blak. "We are only here to help you conquer your fears..."

"You're all against me and forcing me to do things when all I want is to protect the ones that matter."

"She is dead, do you understand?" said the hipogriff. "There is no force which can bring her back."

"How do you even know this?" I cried.

"Because my kind was there!"

There was a notable silence in the room and it made me feel more tense.

"It was the gryphons who did it; they came up with all those wild stories. They created the movement of the Decay which was to represent the decay of the Healers, of those unicorn witches."

"Why do you tell us this now and not before we went down there?" asked Blak.

"Marelyn has to swallow the truth slowly; if I was to give you any more details it wouldn't do any good now wouldn't it?"

"So you know how Emily was killed?" I continued.

"She wasn't killed if that's what you're thinking. When Ann Marie encouraged her sisters to support her cause the Healers became divided. Emily saw in horror how that boy was rescued from dying from an incurable disease..."

"With all due respect, Mamma but how can that be horrible?" Blak interrupted.

"He was going to die anyway. Although some could think that's a good thing it actually wasn't. The colt lived and the parents were very glad their had their proud son back and yet..."

"Yet what?" I asked.

"The rest of the town called it witchcraft and that it would mean disaster for they feared the Void would awaken. Back in those days gryphons had a higher authority in these lands and sought to arrest the Healers, all but one... Emily."

"What did she do?"

"She simply wanted to cooperate and dialogue with the gryphons and all the other equine for she believed in the balance that nature has."

"So?"

"Science was becoming a new thing. Lots of creatures were getting better through new methods so the authorities impulsed this new way of life. They offered them a solution; if they wanted to stay in town they would have to refuse to stop using magic for healing."

"Wait! That heated discussion they had; she tried to convince them."

"But of course Ann Marie declined. She was growing more possessed by the Void. When the authorities fought to destroy them since they left them no better choice."

"Goodness!" cried Rosie May.

"Their magic weakened using the pamphlets they distributed among the townspeople. The less they believed in them the better. Lies, nothing but lies.

Pray for the decay,

for the witches' fray,

Pray for those

who oppose

the righteous way!

They were all burned in this house but no one knows what became of Emily or the colt. Their bodies were never found not even Ann Marie so they assumed they were dead."

"But their spirits are still here," said Blak softly, "they never left."

"And I STILL want to find out where that nice unicorn went!" I shouted.

"Deliver the child and then you will get rid of both of those Healers so this place can be pure. You are an agent of Death."

"What's that supposed to mean then?"

"It means that you must undo what that evil unicorn did; become Death!"

The mark upon my flank wasn't just am interesting picture; it was the role I would play that night.

Blak gave me a sad look for he was not aware of what could happen next. He took my hoof and held it tightly.

"Relax; at least I'm not dying." 


	11. Chapter 11

"You know what's funny?" I laughed nervously, "I wasn't even aware I was being prepared for this moment.

When my father disappeared in that flood when I was just a small colt I was terrified that Death would come and get me too. Huge winged creatures with eyes as red as fire haunted me every night in my dreams. Now, you tell me I have to become one of them, that this is my fate?"

"It will only happen when it's needed," said Mamma.

"How is this thing supposed to work again; how do I become Death, by wishing it?"

"It appears you're smarter than I thought, pony. You see; in your case Death has a counterpart which is life, of course but a stronger one is needed as a catalyst. Only then can a transformation occur."

I sighed deeply.

"I need a moment to think about this."

"It must be done tonight, my boy," said Mamma.

Blak followed me all the way to the balcony making very little noise. I didn't actually care for what time it was but the air was very cool. I let it caress my pale skin and play with jet black mane.

"I know you're there," I said to him, "the way you breathe, the sound of your hooves, the scent of sandalwood upon your coat."

"Thank you, Love; I appreciate that but you look sad."

"I wish this was all one big nightmare so I could truly feel like I'm home."

"This can't be called a home unless it's in peace and only you can change that."

"No," I said as I laid my hoof down, "it's us; together we will make this happen. Our bond is strong and we will succeed."

"Do you really have that much faith in me?"

And so my lips met his and after a while I began to feel very warm; nothing else mattered and I didn't want to let go.

"I think you're feeling better," he said as he stroke his face against mine.

"Oh yeah! I forgot all about being sick; I guess most of the time it's all in my head except for the spectres that live here."

"My dear sweet prince," he said softly, "our love will keep us alive." Blak kissed on the forehead. My mind went blank.

"I got an idea; let's go back inside!"

At that moment I realized something incredibly powerful amazing and shocking.

"Mamma!" I cried as I entered the living room with much enthusiasm.

"I found the catalyst you were talking about! Mamma?..."

The whole room was empty, there was not a trace of that hipogriff, or Rosie or Blak or even my cat. I was alone in the dark...in a haunted house.

I grew uneasy and breathed heavily; the level of silence was incredible.

"It's a dream, it's all just a bad dream..." I repeated to myself over and over as I hit the floor and covered my eyes.

"Silly pony," said the voice of an old woman, "Tell me, if this is a dream why does it feel so real..."

That was Ann Marie; she stood next to me. She didn't resemble a ghost; it was more like she was brought from the past. Her horn glowed and became a means for our conversation.

"You, you're the one who is responsible for driving everyone else mad around here!"

The unicorn of a jaded pink coat continued, "They have been weak; my dearest pupil was a bit of a fool as well."

"You mean Emily, right? Where is she, what did you do to her?"

"It appears you have grown quite fond of her; you're in love with a spectre, ha! Do you have any idea who you really are? Look at the mark on your flank!"

"I am prepared for anything now, I don't fear you. This may not be of my concern but I will fight for what I believe in."

"Oh, that sounds SO gorgeous!" she said sarcastically, "the young ones are always so well spirited and lustful; sadly they ignore the truth."

"What truth?"

"Well that's just the thing isn't it? Nobody is interested in knowing the truth for they preferred to listen to a lie that killed us all?"

"You mean..."

"Pray for the decay,

for the witches' fray,

Pray for those

who oppose

the righteous way!

It makes no sense now because we're dead! We're dead, I tell you! Creatures like you no longer believe in us."

"But I'm different!"

"How?"

"I don't discriminate; I think unicorns are still great despite the limitations they have today."

"Are you sure?" she cried, "Our kind was turned into slaves! Or isn't that other unicorn who lives here a servant?"

"That's different...she works for me but I see her as part of family. Don't change the subject, where is Emily?!"

"You can always summon her; she comes to you when you're in pain."

"I'm not in pain now, I feel fine. Wait, maybe I'm asking the wrong question; where is the little boy you saved from dying?"

Her expression quickly changed, "And how did you find that out?"

"It wasn't that hard; it's a part of history, even my boyfriend Blak could see it. Why did you do that to him? That's forbidden?"

"Oh, come now; are you here to lecture me about what I can or cannot do; it's a tad late for that don't you think? He's no longer among the living so what do you care?"

"Of course I care! He asked me to be delivered, to set his soul free from this eternal Darkness. I am you rival not because you're a unicorn, it's due to your betrayal!"

"Is that right? Then so be it!"

Unfortunately I was hit by her magic rapidly. I didn't feel a thing and yet some seconds later I was hemorrhaging. My skin burned and I lost my balance for everything looked blurry.

"Who's going to save you now, that traitor?"

I touched the ground all lost and confused. "No, my friends will give me strength; love will keep me alive..."

Suddenly I stopped feeling pain as if the wound had closed by itself. Instead my back began to itch uncontrollably as if something was desperately fighting to come out.

"What are you doing to me?!" I yelled.

There was no stopping now; I was experiencing a transformation even the sound of my voice changed. I turned around and noticed I had grown wings! They resembled those of a bat, the ears were pointy and so did my hooves like those of a goat.

"I didn't do that!" she cried nervously. "You have become an agent of Death and I don't like that at all..."

Ann Marie levitated trying to escape and now I could follow her wherever she went with my enormous wings. We were going through a black hole inside the very same mansion; nothing but darkness all over the place yet I could see quite well.

"Come back, you coward! Come back!"

After a while I lost her. She vanished into thin air. I was about to give completely and sought refuge in my thoughts.

"Is there anybody out there? I'm flying through a sky full of sadness, does anyone really care?"

I remembered some of the things Mamma Lyon taught me.

"Is this what the Void looks like? Is this truly the death of all magic, of all good things in the world?"

As I continued to hover I heard a familiar voice that answered my questions.

"Yes, Marelyn; this is the Void, the one that our mistress fell into; it's darker than the bottom of the ocean."

"Is this worse than Death?"

"Yes; nothing can die or come to life here."

"Emily, where am I supposed to go now?"

"Do you believe in magic?"

"Yes!"

"Do you believe in love?"

"Yes!"

"Then you shall have no trouble finding me or the little one."

My body began to feel warm and irradiated a beautiful white light. I closed my eyes and struggled to pictures all things that were pleasant; the way Blak smiled at me, his emerald-green eyes, the soft purring when Lilicat welcomed me in the morning, my mother's garden, the sound of the rain in the afternoon...that very same day when I asked myself if this house was haunted; how I wish I could go back in time and find everything in its place.

Then I thought of Emily. It didn't matter if she wasn't alive because she treated me like I was her son and would gladly do anything for me.

A son; probably the one she never had because the small one fell into the hooves of evil. 


	12. Chapter 12

"Please kill me, that's all I ask for. I wish to have my very own tombstone in the graveyard where my parents are buried."

"What's you name, little colt?" I asked.

"Nicholas; are you one of those who work for Death?" He was small and skinny and had a gray coat and light blue mane. He was a simple earth pony but I could tell he was very brave and smart.

"Yes," I said with some confidence even though I had become familiarized with this concept so quickly. I had trouble grasping the idea that I would have to take the life of someone. As I stared at him I remembered so many things of my childhood. In fact when my father passed away I secretly wanted to be by his side. Maybe that's why those creatures came for me in my dreams.

"This is not a dream, you know," I continued, "the elder unicorn did something to you and unfortunately you never crossed to the other side."

"I know that! Will you take me then to the other side?"

"Yes, I will take your body and bury it personally; come."

"You make it sound so easy, don't you?"

The child grinned and dramatically changed the sound of his voice. Apparently he was an impostor. He laughed like crazy.

Soon he revealed his true self and took the shape of Ann Marie.

"You need to try harder next time because the child's not here!"

"I see you're trying to cheat Death once again, hand him over, hand him over like you were supposed to!"

"All this talk about Death is getting tedious; do you want to see the cruelty that you brought upon us, do you?"

Ann Marie's horn lit up to slowly reveal the unexpected.

A desolate forest came about full of rotten trees.

The images of the Healers, the unicorn nurses came alive. To my shock they were all hanged by the neck placed at the highest point for everyone else to see. A sign was attached to each of them,

"THE DECAY FINALLY CAME."

"If only you had listened to Emily this wouldn't have happened," I said as I struggled to get up keeping in mind that now I possessed a heavy-set of vampire bat wings. "Where is she?"

The elder unicorn walked from side to side looking down on me maliciously, "I was hoping you would lead me to them since you're in love with her so much so I'm just taunting you until you find them."

"So you're stuck here among the Void?"

"Yes! I want to cross to the other side! I never thought it would be like this, an eternity of darkness. Oh! the plan would have worked out so well if it weren't for this witch hunt."

"The plan?"

"Why, yes! The Healers were the best of their kind. Science on the other hoof began to divide us little by little managing to weaken our magic."

"You're trying to confuse me, you brought this upon yourself, you just needed to find and excuse to avoid coping with science so that's why you cursed the child. What's worse is that you cursed yourself for being selfish. You deserve this fate but...

"But?"

"If I carry you away from here the house will be free of your evil spirit so it does benefit me. What do you really want, do you wish to die now?"

"I was only defending my kind and look what they did instead! Do you think those barbarians made the right choice by killing us?"

"Do you think you made the right choice delaying the death of an innocent kid? This is what happens when you tamper with the delicate balance of life and death. Not only did you bring agony to your peers, you did it to further generations and it's awfully hard to fix that."

I approached her and gave her a very intimidating look. She said my eyes glowed red like a precious ruby.

"Please sir, don't give me a much worse fate than being stuck in the Darkness! I am all alone and doomed to remember those fatal events again and again."

"Rest, Ann Marie for you cannot do anything to make things easier for your kind. The ones who are still alive like me will bring change. I will never forget you and you shall never really die."

I spread my wings and grabbed her jaded-looking body away from the scene of a massacre. I wasn't completely sure where I was going but as Miss Nightingale said to me I had to concentrate heavily on a place where a unicorn would truly feel happy; a place where there was no good or evil, no violence of any kind. She closed her eyes and began to speak," I can see the light now, the River of Souls! A stream to a promised land."

There was a pier where there was a small boat ready to set sail. We landed quietly and placed the elder inside. The air was the purest I ever breathed and it smelled of fresh white roses.

"I know you were there from the first day I arrived but I never paid attention to what you were trying to say. You just protected your house like a mother when she feels danger. My own mother did something very similar. Go now."

The boat apparently was enchanted; it moved by itself going towards the horizon on a bright summer day and I remained until she disappeared.

I felt the breeze under my wings and attempted to lift me up to the skies, "One down, two to go...where are they?"

In the meantime I didn't care so much because I enjoyed the beauty of flying; making circles in the sky, swooping up and down, perhaps because I felt victorious at this point contemplating the idea that I would finally get some sleep and no one in the house would feel disturbed anymore, not even Blak.

"Focus now," I repeated to myself, "find that happy place at home..."

For no reason it came to mind the small theater I had where I rehearsed with my band. It was also where I saw a ghost; it could have been Emily then again no.

Both of them rested in the stage holding on to each other.

"It's a bit odd to find you here."

"Not at all. I've been inside these walls several times."

"Why?"

"Because I noticed that you sing though...I have no idea what sound it is but you certainly put all you heart into it."

I smiled and felt almost about to blush, "Thank you."

"Finally you took the form of the agent of Death, did you find Ann Marie?"

"Yes and fortunately she won't be bothering us anymore. I took her to a place where she can do no harm."

"Please don't misjudge her, she was only..."

"...protecting all of you. I understand that she had good intentions at first but then it all went downhill. Emily?"

"Yes?"

"I always wanted to ask you; that night while you quarreled with her and she said that she would teach you a lesson, what did she do?"

"Oh, well you see she locked me up in the cellar with Nicholas and it's exactly where we are now. Ann Marie forgot all about it when the authorities came looking for her and my sisters."

"So he never returned to his parents?"

"No. Apparently gryphons are absent-minded. I think we may have run out of oxygen and never woke up."

"They were all murdered except for you two."

I sighed, "I was told if I took this little one to the other side everything would go back to normal and this house wouldn't be haunted anymore."

"It's true but to carry out that you would have to get through us. I have been a sort of mother to him for indefinite period hence if he leaves I will be out of a job."

"Not you too! At least Ann Marie was impulsive but reasonable. You're holding on to him because you're stubborn. Give him to me, didn't he wish to die?"

"No!" cried Nicholas waking up from his slumber, "I wanna stay with Emily! She's kind and pretty and gives me all I need."

"But didn't you want to cross to the other side with me?"

"That must have been one of Ann Marie's tricks. She confused you," said the unicorn.

"Oh, I have had it with you magical creatures! No wonder you got into so much trouble. He needs to leave now!"

"Then I would be gone and I wouldn't be able to help you too."

And she was right. If I resolved this she would vanish as well and now she would no longer visit me at night."

"Your power will be greater if I carry your souls out of here. If you are trapped nothing good will come out of it. This is the end of an era, of a haunted house. Don't despair, your memory lives on; all the knowledge rests in the library and others have continued to talk about you. Heh, I suspect even my maid reads those books now and then."

"She does, doesn't she?" said Emily.

"Yes! It is the best gift you could ever give us. I know I'll miss you terribly but we have to learn to let go."

"Sir, what's it like to die, you know before we go?" said Nicholas.

"For you, little guy it will be even better than anything you ever dreamed of."

"I trust you."

(continued) 


	13. Chapter 13

My eyelids felt so heavy it seemed almost impossible to wake up. I realized I landed on a bed of marigolds just outside the mansion. The air was crisp and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Back to reality I guess.

The bat wings were gone as well as the rest of my weird extremities. Even so, my legs were sore and I rolled in the grass from side to side. "What a wild trip that was," I said as I brushed off the dirt from my pale coat. "Blak! Oh, damn."

I rushed back to the house and as soon as I approached the entrance there was no one there. "Oh, not again!" I cried and laid my hoof down. "Guys? Rosie May? Anyone?"

Suddenly out of nowhere Blak tackled me and proceeded to invade me with kisses.

"Oh, my love, you're alright! I was worried sick about you," he sounded agitated.

"I missed you too, babe. Gosh, what day is it?"

"It's Sunday. So how did it go?"

"Well, I was left by myself to face those spirits; they're gone now. Somehow I felt you were there with me helping me."

"Yes! I was the catalyst Mamma was talking about."

"Yeah; everything will be okay from now on; at least I'll sleep better."

The hipogriff lady came in afterwards and continued, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Probably but I discovered more stuff than I could imagine. I thought this was not my problem and that it would go away eventually but now I'm in full control. This house is officially mine."

"That's sounds lovely, Dear!" cried Rosie May.

"As for you Mamma, you really got all mixed up. Gryphons are very untrustworthy but in your case I'll make an exception. This was all a matter of interests with no winners or losers."

" I appreciate that, boy! Your words are certainly more mature than the first time we met."

"Afterall you lead me to Blak and he is in fact my true love."

She laughed as her feathers ruffled, "My! I never told you to chase this little cutie; it was your decision. Did you learn something from all of this?"

"Why should I?" I said boldly. "I just conquered my biggest fear which was Death; I embraced it and now I feel like I can do anything."

"Good! Then consider it a gift you'll have to use when it's needed."

"Right now I can't think of any other situation."

"Oh, you'll see; this won't be the first or last time."

"Anyway, all this talk has made me hungry. "

"Excellent, my Dear!" said Rosie all lighted up, "that means you're well again. Please come inside."

"Yeah, I'm alive and well again."

Later that afternoon I recalled to carry out a duty besides exorcising the mansion; to visit the place where Nicholas could have been buried.

Blak and I went personally to the graveyard but it was a bit far away. When we began to search there was one for that little guy. It said, "Nicholas Goldenhooves, died age 13 of mysterious illness...wait a minute!"

I examined the parents' tombstones as well, "Justin and Angeline Goldenhooves, oh no; Blak! Do you realize what this means?"

"How curious," he said as he bent to take a closer look, "It must be a coincidence or it seems that our own Madeleine was related to them."

"Even if they were related why did she buy the estate, to find the truth like I did or was obsessed with it."

"That's going way deep down in history and I can investigate that later. In the meantime I'll leave this here." A medallion hung around my neck with the shape of the Circle of Death just like the mark on my flank. It would stay as a token to help him make a safe journey towards the land I planned for him.

"And whatever became of the Healers, Love?" asked Blak.

I sighed. "They had a much worse fate; consumed by flames and others ran out of air like Emily. Wherever they may be all we have is the memories, the facts are still very sketchy yet we should appreciate them for their determination."

"I suppose that we can't change the past then."

"It was never about that. What they showed me will stay with me forever. I wish you could have seen when I looked like a vampire."

"Somehow I felt it. A bleak memory but I'm sure it wouldn't frighten me."

"Are you sure? Maybe I could put on a disguise like that one of these days..."

"I don't mind. The macabre has a romantic side to it." Then he kissed with an open mouth; his lips were so tender and warm, "Do you really have to go?" I said softly. "This will help you remember me every day; we are one now. I'll come back in time for your birthday, is that alright?"

"Hmm, I can imagine what I'm going to get..."

"I'll think of something."

"I don't care; all I need is you and nothing else."

Silly pony. 


End file.
